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I had my surgery.on August 24th 2016in three month I lost 64lbs yhats a start I weighted from.the start 307 now iam down to 242 doctor said that was good .for three months and told .me by next week.I will slow down on losing weight it wont gose as fast as it did from the start but iam still.happy and still.trying we have people helping throw this jounary Sent from my 5054N using the BariatricPal App

My name is Kerri and I'm a 37 year old wife and mother of 2. I've been battling PCOS since 1999, gaining weight, losing weight, gaining more...blah blah blah, you know the story! I've been on Metformin for more than 10 years, but my a1c keeps creeping up. Doctors have suggested that I look into bariatric surgery, so I went to two seminars. That was two years ago, when I found out that our insurance doesn't cover a dime of bariatric surgery, under any circumstance. In the meantime, I prayed that we could come up with the money. I have all of the support of my husband and family, but the funds just weren't there. To make a really long story short, I got some blood test results recently that gave me an official diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. I'm feeling pretty crappy with headaches and horrible, throbbing leg pain. I decided right then and there that I need to make this happen sooner rather than later. WE HAVE THE FUNDING FOR MY SURGERY! I'm currently scheduling my scope, then I will have a surgery date! I'm hoping for end of June. I am so excited to go on this journey with you all! Now I'm off to explore this fun site!

Tomorrow is jean day at my work and I needed to go buy some new britches. It was a very full circle day for me. One of the "ah-ha" moments for me was about a year ago at the Gap. I went in to buy some jeans and the 14's were way too tight, and they were out of 16's. So I left with no pants, and the realization that my weight had gotten to a point where I could not find a size in a "normal" store, only in plus size stores. Today, when I went into that same Gap, I started with the 12's - too big, the 10's - still a little too big. I left with a SIZE 8! (They are snug as a bug, but I am still about 20 pounds from my goal) A size 8 and a SMALL t-shirt. It was exhilarating. I am so thankful to my surgeon and the support from this listserv. It played a critical role in me making the decision to get sleeved 4 months ago. I feel like a new woman!

I had surgery just over 1 week ago. I am no expert, but I thought I would post some tips for VSG in Mexico, based on my experience. I hope others will post their tips too. These are my personal suggestions, but as always, the old disclaimer applies…”your mileage may vary!” The top 5 criteria for choosing a surgeon in Mexico are usually location, price, the DR, the facility, and the coordinator. You can narrow down your choice by focusing on answers to these criteria. Location-It seems that most people on the forum go to Tijuana/Mexicali, Cancun, or Puerto Vallarta. There are other locations, too. Location is a good criteria to start narrowing down your choices if the location is important to you. Price-The cost varies by location, doctor, and coordinator. Your BMI and other health factors will also affect the price. The coordinator web site will explain those. DR-For everyone, the DR will probably be the primary concern. Do a search on the forum and read what others say about the DRs you are considering. My thinking is that any of the DRs mentioned on the forum are probably equally competent. It is in their best interest to take care of their patients and not have any issues. You can also check out information about them on their coordinator’s web site. I think many doctors may be represented by more than one coordinator. I also did a google search on the DR I chose. I felt very comfortable with him based on the information I found, I went to Cancun with that confidence, and it never wavered. I think that was a key component of having a good experience. Facility-If you narrow your choice down to a specific DR, you might not have much choice in the facility. If the facility is critical to you, you might want to decide on that before narrowing down to a choice of DR. I want to say one thing about comments on “strip mall clinics.” I went to one that some people would call a strip mall clinic. It was a building that adjoined other shops along the street. I would not call it a strip mall in the American sense. You have to keep in mind that you are in Mexico, not the US. I would compare the clinic to an older small hospital that you could find in many small US towns. It was very clean and while a few nurses did not speak English, communication was not a problem. They use the same medical practices as in the US, although they may not be as high tech. For instance, they took my temperature with a thermometer in the armpit instead of the high tech thing they stick in your ear in the US. Both methods work! Coordinator-The coordinator may be your least important criteria—it was for me. However, I realized that the coordinator can help you immensely. I chose a coordinator with a top BBB rating and with lots of positive comments on the forum. You can find lots of information on their web sites and you can ask them any questions you have. To sum it up, I think my experience was good for me because I was confident in my choice and once I made my decision, I didn’t look back or question. My husband went with me and he was great support. He had traveled in Mexico more than me and he helped me to maintain a go-with-the-flow attitude that made the experience stress- free. Suggested Reading -For post-surgery, you really need to make sure you understand the diet you will be on when you get home. You won’t have a nutritionist to consult with, unless you choose to find one yourself. Or this forum can be a great help too, although when I have seen some of the posts about diet by newly sleeved forum members, I don’t think they all quite understand what they should be eating. For that reason, I recommend that you buy Dr Alvarez book, Successful Weight Loss with the Gastric Sleeve. It will explain the surgery in Mexico and gives good information on the diet. The other book you will find useful is The Big Book on the Gastric Sleeve by VST’s own Alex Brecher. You should have both of those books. Post Op Diet-I had diet instructions form the clinic and from my DR. I already was pretty familiar with the diet, thanks to the above mentioned books and working with a nutritionist 5 years ago when I considered lap band. But when I got home, I found I was confused because I was trying to stick to all the suggestions. I finally threw away the clinic instructions and modified my DRs instructions using the timeline in Dr Alvarez book. People think the DRs all have different diets, but in reality the diets are all the same. It is just the timing of each phase of the diet progression that differs. The progression is clear liquids, full liquids, soft food, pureed food, regular food. My understanding is that full liquids is the stage where you add the protein shakes. I am following my DRs food choice guidelines, but using Dr Alvarez progression so I am not starting soft/pureed food until 3 weeks. I am very happy with my choice I have a lot to learn, but I’m looking forward to it. The key is to make your decision, arm yourself with information, and never look back!

I live in Birmingham, Alabama. I had lap band surgery on May 30th, 2008. Hospitals are never fun and my surgery went ok, with a few minor issues. I had surgery 6 years ago for sleep apnea and then gained some weight and the apnea came back with out me knowing it. I stopped breathing during my lap band surgery and had to be intubated. Then because my O2 levels were so low , they made me spend the night. By the following day I was better and went home. The surgery was not very painful and the day I went home I was just a little sore but the doc gave me lortab . I had a lot of nausea from anesthesia. So I also took phenegren. I had some issues with feeling really severe pain in my chest and back. It turned out to be caused from swelling and air bubbles. My best advice is to never drink and eat at the same time. when you drink you swallow air. The air gets trapped between the slow moving food particles and the liquid, creating bubbles. It feels like a heart attack. It helps to try and burp. It will pass after a few minutes. I think that the physical aspects of the lap band, are easy to deal with in comparison to the emotional and metal aspects. I can only speak for myself in this regard but for me it's the honest truth. I am addicted to food, I have suffered from emotional eating my whole life. I believe it is a learn behavior that I developed in childhood. I had serious issues with the liquid diet even after just a few days. I was starving! I cheated and ate food way too early. But it's part of the reason I didn't loose as much weight as some people. Once I realize I could eat, psychologically I felt better but at the same time I was disappointed that the band didn't seem to be "policing" my eating habits. I went through weeks of being depressed and sometimes really upset with myself for spending so much money on something that didn't seem to be working. I paid out of pocket because my insurance wouldn't cover it. About 8 years ago when I was much thinner, I had a tummy tuck and breast reduction. I developed MRSA which is a staff infection. It became septic and I almost died. Since then my body has been colonize with MRSA. Now all of us have staff that naturally grows on our skin, but the kind I now have is resistant to antibiotics. I was sent by my surgeon to an infectious disease doctor before surgery, he had me take two different antibiotics for 30 days prior and after my surgery to minimize the risk of another life threatening infection. These antibiotics cause the natural bacteria in my digestive system to die. So I had a lot of diarrhea and still do. I have also felt very tired since surgery. I have missed a lot of work and it has all been a big struggle. Almost 2 weeks ago I found this website. It took me a while to sign up and get the nerve to start posting and blogging. Since I have been here I have learned a ton. I started taking probiotic which help replace the natural flora lost from antibiotics, I also have taken since surgery a muti vitamin called Vitaband. It's chew able and taste pretty good. I also take a calcium supplement by Vitaband. They are cinnamon and are so good! I added Vitamin D, 1000 milligrams and plan to talk to my doctor about getting a B12 shot for some much needed energy. I take glucosomine chondrotin for my joints, as a heavy person I have bad knees and this seems to help. For me the key to vitamins is consistency. It takes a while for my body to tell the difference from taking them. I feel much more "proactive" since coming to this website. I feel empowered by the answers that I have gotten and by the support of the people here. It's great to hear success stories, they keep me hopefull. I have the realize band instead of some of the other band's on the market. I love the realize website. I have started keeping track of my progress there and it has really helped. It has a place to sign in and I can fill out every thing from recipes and food diary to triggers and emotional issues. I keep track of my workouts, glasses of water, vitamins, band tightness ect. A year or so ago, I bought the biggest loser books. I never used them and just brought them out the other day. It turns out that the things they preach in the books go along with the eating and workouts with the lap band. I have found so many really great recipes that are low fat, low carb with portion control. There is also a great workout and great advice on how the body works, what it takes to loose weight and keep it off. If you google "biggest loser books" amazon as sets of them for sale, all three books for 20.99 right now. Or the biggest loser website sells them. My diet.. I am trying to limit my calories to 1800 daily. I know that sounds like a lot to most people but what I have learned is that if you starve your body, it will hold on to fat! I also try to eat consistently every 4 or 5 hours, eating small snacks at a time. this keeps the metabolism balanced and working for me, without having ups and down with blood sugar. This keeps the weight coming off. I try to get in 100g of protein each day and I keep my carbs as low as possible. I have did a bunch of research on protein shakes and finally settled on one. I ready several reports online about obese people and soy protein. Apparently it helps obese people loose weight faster than whey or wheat protein. I have order some and when it gets here and I try it, i will blog my thoughts and the brand. My doc also recommended VHT Evtreme smoothee. They are a simple good tasting drink that helps when you don't have anything for breakfast or a snack. they are made for people who have had the lap band, Ebay has the best price I have found. Chocolate is my favorite. It's great when I crave chocolate like for those PMS moments. I joined a gym and it came with a few personal training sessions. I got some great tips from my instructor. He said the more protein the better within the calorie range for me. He also advised that I eat my carbs in the morning. They will give me some energy to work out and also give me time to burn them off before they have a chance to turn to fat. I would say the hardest thing for me so far is to stay away from sugar. I love sweets and I love a good cup of coffee with real cream and sugar. I am having coffee in the morning and using the splenda that is part sugar part splenda. I plan to ween myself slowly off of the sugar. It turns out that carbs actually make you more hungry!! I just learned that. That's totally why I am so fat! i was a carb junkie! In turn protein makes you feel full longer Let see... what else am I doing? Oh, yes... I still don't think my band is tight enough as I can eat big bites. I think from what everyone told me in chat, that I need to be tightened again. So Monday am, I am calling to request it. I do really well on my diet all day.. then late at night I want to eat. I was thinking about trying a diet pill but I haven't found one for the evening. I don't want it to keep me up. I think tonight I am going to try and go to bed if I start feeling hungry or read a book. Well, that's all I can think of for now. I am just happy to be here, happy my fever went away and happy I am re hydrated from yesterday. I am going to keep drinking my clear liquids and stay hydrated, as for the diarrhea issue. If it comes back today, I may have to go to my general care doc and find out what the heck is going on. I am so tired of going to doctors that I hope that won't happen. Maybe my body just needs a bit more time to adjust to this new life style. Thanks for reading! Stay strong! We can all do it! Rachelle Perrin As of today I have lost 14lbs in almost 6weeks. Slow and steady wins the race!

1. Stay off the scale for a while 2. You are doing just fine in your weight loss. Lower your expectations (or try to get rid of them completely). 3. It isn't a race to solid foods. I wasn't even allowed to try purees for four weeks post op. If your body isn't ready for them, then stick with your liquids for another week or so then try again. It won't hurt you to wait. 4. It is completely normal to be exhausted for weeks (multiple weeks!) after major surgery like this. Give yourself a break and treat yourself kindly. 5. Yes, your stomach will eventually be able to handle all textures of food and you will get your energy back. But this is major, traumatic surgery! You need to give yourself time and not expect everything to be back to "normal" right away. But you will get there, I promise.

I also encourage you to explore these feelings with someone qualified..., One thing I want to add is, maybe you're feeling better about yourself such that you feel like you don't need to "settle"? As you feel better about yourself, you feel less afraid of being alone, because YOU are accepting you now? Having said that, I have a friend whose wife divorced him after she got her lap-band. He said she just kinda drifted off and she just wasn't interested anymore.... It could also be hormonal! Remember that as you burn fat, your overall stored estrogen is being released into your system and going away... That's great for overall cancer risk but it might make for some hormonal feelings too, and not the "fun" hormones... More of the blah hormones. Unless you are experiencing an abusive situation, don't rush into any decisions.... But don't rule anything out, either. As your weight stabilizes you may feel differently.

I had my Lapband put in Oct. 2005. Initially I lost between 50 and 60 pounds and eventually gained it all back. It really did me no good. Partially my fault too, not just the band. If it was "just a tool", I didn't think it was a very good tool. I am sittiting at my pre band weight. On March 23rd I will get the band removed and a VSG procedure done. I have been spending a lot of time online researching and reading. I am hoping to get helpful info here. I start my pre op diet this Tuesday. My first question is: will I have to get a catheter put in? I have never had one and it seems like it would be painful. Sent from my SM-N900P using the BariatricPal App

Just going through the 2 week liguid diet. Only allowed 4 protein drinks and water. Getting through it. As of today down to 229 from 240 in 8 days. It's been rough the last 2 with being hungry. Switched my drinks to strawberry and chocolate and made it with my bullet with ice to make it like a shake. It's very good and helps to make it slower to drink. Fighting the allergies with being tired and soar throat, just took tylenol allergy for it. Need to get some energy back. Going to get the vitamins Monday before surgery on Wednesday. Legs and feet are starting to feel less swollen from the weight loss Wich is good for me, I retain water alot. My everyday and thoughts revolves around this new chapter in my life. Health issues and comfort food are my biggest issues. Always been able to loose weight before I hit 40, just can't fight against serious medical issues to even walk comfortably and two ankle/foot surgeries already. Another after the sleeve. Everyone has issues and that is why we are all here. Not to cure them all but to have tools to help our struggles how ever we can for better quality of life. I call my self a pear with legs! Small up top and bottom heavy...and it's not my waist. Thighs, hips and ass! Never will be proportioned. I'm ok with that. Just this body now keeps my physical activities very limited. Glad to be on here. Hope to learn, and support others. Here is to my last 5 days before a new chapter of being healthy and staying that way. It's my life!

My BMI was 39.9 and I was on the fence but it. The end I decided I was done with the yoyo bc I was constantly losing and then gaining it all back + some . I am 5'2.5 and was 234 at my highest right before my husband deployed in 2011 I went on a diet while he was gone and lost 22 pounds while he was gone for 6 months but after 3 months of him being back I put 14 lbs back on and would have continued going up if I hadn't had the surgery in Nov of 2012. I had some issues but none were terrible yet but I felt it was only a matter of time. I was 32 with high blood pressure and sleep apnea and I was pre diabetic. I also have hypothyroidism so I was already at a disadvantage. I really just felt that if I didnt get into a Bariatric Program at 226 I would end up doing it at 286 later on. I am happy I made that decision my BMI is 29.3 now and I hope to be under 25 when all is said and done:) *editted to correct my BMI

This is tough because, for me, I've lost a lot of weight several times on my own only to gain it all back! With my pattern, I'd still have the surgery. If you have been obese for a long time, statistics say I believe only 10% of people will lose weight and keep it off. Crazy right? Not saying you won't be successful, but something to think about. With every weight gain came depression and absolute loss of control. Right now, I'm smaller than I've ever been as an adult! I had my surgery 5 1/2 months ago. I'm happier than I've ever been and have no fear of gaining the weight back! Good luck with whatever you choose and you are doing an amazing job!

Also, right now the people you love are probably just concerned about the surgery itself. I went through this with my husband. After all was said and done and he saw that I survived, he was totally supportive. My parents on the other hand were always supportive and I only talked to them about my surgery pre op. It was hard not having my husband's approval, but I knew this was my only option for being successful. Now that I'm almost 6 months out, I'm at complete peace with my decision and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I wish I would have done it at 246 as well.....that's around the weight I'd always get to before I blew up to 280-290. I started at 296 and am 226 today!

Well I had my follow up appointment with my dr today! After hearing my story of what all had been happening she sent me right upstairs to her favorite OB...After talking with the OB and running alot of tests she is thinking that my depo shot and the lapband are fighting eachother...Basically one stores estrogen and one makes you get rid of it so they were battling since June and I think by the looks of it the band one...She says that my depo days are deffinately over...So she also has me scheduled for an ultrasound next friday just incase its something else and I have a follow up with her on the friday after that to get all of my testing results back and to talk to her about a new birth control method...She had mentioned the mirena which I had never heard of before...I just sits right inside the uterus and you dont have to worry about birth control for 5 years at a time, no weight gain (which I had alot from the depo) and it doesnt use estrogen at all (which is exactly what I need)...She said in most cases the patient doesnt even bleed during that time of the month but maybe spots just a little...I told her that it sounded better than finding a huge diamond in my christmas stocking...She will call if anything abnormal comes up with my tests but says if she dont hear from me that everything is fine and can wait till my follow up...Of course we have to wait on the mirena until after all my tests are back cuz she dont want to add insult to injury if something else is wrong...So far the estrogen pills are working pretty good, just a little spotting right now but nothing like it was thank goodness...It can only get better from here on!!

Well I had my follow up appointment with my dr today! After hearing my story of what all had been happening she sent me right upstairs to her favorite OB...After talking with the OB and running alot of tests she is thinking that my depo shot and the lapband are fighting eachother...Basically one stores estrogen and one makes you get rid of it so they were battling since June and I think by the looks of it the band one...She says that my depo days are deffinately over...So she also has me scheduled for an ultrasound next friday just incase its something else and I have a follow up with her on the friday after that to get all of my testing results back and to talk to her about a new birth control method...She had mentioned the mirena which I had never heard of before...I just sits right inside the uterus and you dont have to worry about birth control for 5 years at a time, no weight gain (which I had alot from the depo) and it doesnt use estrogen at all (which is exactly what I need)...She said in most cases the patient doesnt even bleed during that time of the month but maybe spots just a little...I told her that it sounded better than finding a huge diamond in my christmas stocking...She will call if anything abnormal comes up with my tests but says if she dont hear from me that everything is fine and can wait till my follow up...Of course we have to wait on the mirena until after all my tests are back cuz she dont want to add insult to injury if something else is wrong...So far the estrogen pills are working pretty good, just a little spotting right now but nothing like it was thank goodness...It can only get better from here on!!

I agree with everything BandterHopeful just wrote and that is the very reason why I chose Dr.Joya. He has a lot of experience and has been doing the surgery for some time. I have talked to some of his patients on the phone that are 3 and 4 years out. No problems and they have met their goal weight. I think that they are doing well because they were instructed to find follow up care before scheduling the surgery just as I was instructed. I left MX with a whole new perspective. It was an awesome experience that I would not trade. The office helps find you follow up care and and give a lot of information to help the band be the best TOOL it can be. My doctor in the states brags about how my port placement is so text book and a easy stick. My advice is research...research....research...

How to Watch Olympic Games on Your PC without Paying Since London 2012 is coming closer and closer, more and more people begin to learn how to watch live Olympic Games on PC without spending extra money. Just as everybody knows that it is not easy to get an Olympic ticket. Also if we will work at that time, it is not easy for us to enjoy Olympic well. As for me, the perfect situation I want is to watch live London 2012 Olympic Games on my computer outdoor. There are only two steps to achieve this result. Firstly, I need a Wi-Fi or wireless network for my computer. It is very easy to achieve this target since many stores and shopping malls that provide free Nike GS Store Wi-Fi services. Secondly, I need a software tool which will enable me to watch live Olympics online. So I need a TV Tuner and a TV player software. There are two kinds of softwares that can enable me to watch live TV online. The first one is a kind of TV Tuner with built-in player software. The second one is a TV Tuner with a TV player. Here I strongly recommend BlazeVideo HDTV Player Professional V6.6 Edition. It is the best TV software in the current market. BlazeVideo HDTV Player Professional allows you to watch, record and pause TV program or listen to digital FM radio on your PC Nike GS Store without spending money. The only thing you need is a TV tuner. This software supports most TV tuners in the current market. So you can buy one in your local market or online. Originally it is sold for 69.95 dollars. But I heard that it is on a giveaway promotion activity now. The promotion name is BlazeVideo 2012 London Olympic Games Giveaway. This giveaway promotion activity provides three kinds of software giveaways, HDTV Player Professional, Video Magic Ultimate and VideoFlick. There are 10 people who will have chances to win HDTV Player Professional softwares along with free TV Tuners. You only need to submit a video related to Olympic games. Anything is OK. There are 100% winning rate. I have attended and submitted my video to them. I think I will gain one. I am always a luck girl. Love it so much. Last summer Olympic Games in 2008 China Beijing, I could not watch it for working. This time I am so happy that I can watch it anywhere. I love summer Olympics instead of winter Olympics. Maybe it is becuase of that I was born in summer days. Whatever, thanks BlazeVideo for providing us such a good giveaway. If you are interested in ,please join it : MLB World Series Tickets , MLB World Series Every year, the primary education hearth in any professional sport is the race for a championship. Each sport has their trophy of pinnacle, but none as is coveted as a series world baseball; the best of the contest seven which celebrates our national pastime. An event as important as any holidays on the calendar, it is as traditional as Thanksgiving, as patriotic as the quarter of July and as envisaged like morning of Christmas. During the last century, the MLB world Series was woven in fabric of the evolution of the culture of remote America beyond only one tournament of baseball. It became the set of all the plays and continued to provide us a reel without end of climax of the magic moments evoking of the memories of childhood of anguish and extase. How one it would define the series of the world It is to catch of Willie May what cannot be caught and to put Larsen being perfect where the perfection is simply not possible. It is Ruth baby indicating the ventilators and the media where it will deposit next launching and a team strongly gained at the points Cheap Adidas Copa Mundial of pirates beating the Yankees unbeatable in addition to ninth breath of Mazeroski of invoice of turn of beater. The series of the world is the blow breaker of Fred Snodgrass dropping a ball and Willie McCovey currents from fly striking the final outside directly to the Richardson police officer. It is the curse of the bambino, when the faithful red ventilators of Sox live their whole lives without being pilot of a championship and when Yankees ventilates the witness four in five years... Although the "classique one of autumn" like we know that it did not start until 1903, the principal baseball of league had several versions of a series after the season of championship before that. In 1884, the gray of providence of the national league dominated the metropolitan club of New York of the American association of a series of three plays for what in the beginning was called "the championship of the United States." Several newspapers parked the gray like the "champions of the world" and the new title stuck. During six years to come, the various variations took place between the national league and flag-gaining them American association, extending in the length from six to fifteen plays. American association yielded suddenly after the season 1891 forcing a suspension of the series. 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Dr. Quebbemann in Newport Beach, CA was the first doctor to perform the vertical sleeve using the spider system. :tongue_smilie: http://inyourface.ocregister.com/2010/07/19/weight-loss-surgery-through-the-belly-button/18999/

I had "silent" reflux inappropriately treated as asthma for 10 years pre-op. When they did my EGD they found the evidence and a contributing hiatial hernia. We had the same discussion, but my doc felt that with the hernial repair and a PPI, I was still a good sleeve candidate. Post op, things were worse for the first month. Even with 40 Omeparzole 2x day, I had to put lifts under the head of my bed to get any rest at night. Good news for me was, after that, once the swelling went down and I lost the weight, still taking the Omeparzole 2x day, I'm symptom free. One day I hope to cut back to just the nighttime dose. I may try it soon.

I am the same way. Only rich foods like almonds seem to be an issue and not a big issue at that. My guess is that you haven't lost more because you've explored all the "don't eat" foods to see if you get dumping or not. No judgement here. I've done it too! Haha. Ice cream, beer, liquor, sushi rolls, hamburger WITH a bun, bowl of Cereal etc. But. I don't do it often. I've had steady weight loss (sleeve 3/29, down 57lbs). But when I see a day to day of zero weight loss I know it's because I ate one of the things I'm not supposed to. So back to strict 2-3oz, Protein first, 1-2 shakes a day and bam! Start dropping weight again. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you are referring to insurance, I didn't have either surgery for weight loss so BMI was not even considered. I had some upper GI issues. I have lost weight, but really didn't need to. Had I not had this RNY, it would have been likely that in the future I may have gotten esophageal cancer because my acid was so out of control. Also I had an area on my esophagus that was so thin from acid damage, it would have probably ruptured in the near future, so he had to repair that when he got in there before he did the bypass. My pouch is smaller than normal because of the repair so the restiction is much greater than the sleeve restriction. But everything is going great. Never had any pain or any nausea, and I am on all food now and no issues. No regrets!

Hi everyone. I’m new to this site. I do want some advice. I am now 2 months post op and have lost 33 pounds and seem to now gain and lose the same 3 pounds. I am struggling with sweets and am really wanting soda. I feel like I’m grazing and struggling with eating a stable meal except dinner. For dinner every night I do eat tomatoes and cottage cheese. Any advice to get over this sweet hump. I am so disappointed in myself and discouraged.

It's science: A "stall" a few weeks after surgery is not uncommon, and here's why. Our bodies use glycogen for short term energy storage. Glycogen is not very soluble, but it is stored in our muscles for quick energy -- one pound of glycogen requires 4 lbs. of water to keep it soluble, and the average glycogen storage capacity is about 2 lbs. So, when a patient is not getting in enough food, the body turns first to stored glycogen, which is easy to break down for energy. Then when 2 lbs. of glycogen is used a patient will also lose 8 lbs. of water that was used to store it -- voila -- the "easy" 10 lbs. that most people lose in the first week of a diet. However, when the body stays in a caloric deficit state the body starts to realize that this is not a short-term problem. Then the body starts mobilizing fat from adipose tissue and burning fat for energy. But the body also realizes that fat can't be used for short bursts of energy. So, it starts converting some of the fat into glycogen, and rebuilding the glycogen stores. As it puts back the 2 lbs. of glycogen into the muscle, 8 lbs. of water has to be stored with it to keep it soluble. So, even though the patient might still be losing energy content to their body, the weight will not go down or it might even gain for a while as the retention of water dissolves the glycogen that is being reformed and stored.

I had my sleeve November. In January started vomiting first a little than a lot. Than everything I ate and drank came up faster than in went down. Why because it was not going down my stomach torsioned and went into my chest. Took one hospital a week to figure it out and than that sent me to the Hospital who did my surgery. Took 3 surgeons to get it out of my chest my lung collapsed and I woke up with a huge fat lip from where I bit through it during surgery. Hernia was repaired again this time they say it ain't going anywhere. Pray their right. Have not lost any weight in 3 weeks but I'm so weak not moving around much. Was in the Hospital a total of 3 weeks. Sent from my SM-N950U using BariatricPal mobile app

Stalls are a natural part of the weight loss process and although frustrating are usually nothing to worry about. That said, there are some things you can check that may shorten the length of the stall or even jump start your weight loss. Are you getting ALL of your doctor's recommended daily protein? There are lots of reasons why protein is so important but sometimes you can break through a plateau by increasing your intake of protein - eggs, low-fat cheese, fish, chicken, turkey, or tuna - for two or three days. Try to avoid anything processed. The science behind it is that the intake of pure amino acids increases your metabolism and forces the body to burn stored fat. Are you getting your doctor's recommended daily calorie intake? Plateaus can be "artificially" created if you aren't eating enough calories. The body reacts by burning less stored fuel. Essentially, your metabolic rate slows as the body attempts to conserve fuel in response to a "famine" state. Reducing calories is important for losing weight but it is not the whole story and you can go too far. Are you drinking a lot of fluids? Preferably water (ugh) but all fluids help flush the system out and can actually increase weight loss. Are you staying active? Exercise will increase the speed of your weight loss, increase the total amount of weight you will lose, and help you to maintain your goal weight when you get there. Forget about training to be the next superhero! Remember the Prime Directive - everything you do including your exercise must be sustainable. I walk at least four times a week. I started out walking 15 to 20 minutes and slowly worked my way up to 45 to 55 minutes and two and a half to three miles. I enjoy it and that makes it sustainable. Five years of an exercise plan that you enjoy is infinitely more valuable than five weeks of frustrating yourself and ultimately giving up. Stay focused on following the protocol, stay active, and stay away from the scales for a couple of weeks. Before you know it the stall will pass and you'll be right back on track to the new you!

I've lost a total of 165 pounds been the same weight at 182 for the past 8 months so I'm very happy with the results.. Of course I have extra skin but it's nothing that I can't live with..I was comfortable with my eating habits prob a few months after the surgery I just made a choice that the way I was eating and the lifestyle I was choosing was def the wrong decision..at 2 years post op I can pretty much eat anything I want within reason but I really try to stick with lean meats and veggies with as much Protein as possible during the day